Warriors: The Beginning
by ShadeofthePoppy
Summary: In the darkest hour of the night, a litter of kits was born too early. As the kits slowly expired one by one, an owl began to circle the camp. Just before the last kit could die, the owl disappeared from sight. The Clan believed that this was a miracle, but it was an omen sent by StarClan. This story is also being published to my deviantART account: Poppyshade.
1. Allegiances

**ALLEGIANCES**

**TWILIGHTCLAN**

**LEADER** **MOTHSTAR-**golden tabby she-cat with honey-colored eyes

**DEPUTY** **RATCLAW-**silver tom with fiery orange eyes

**MEDICINE CAT** **FOXPELT-**ginger tom with fox-like markings

**APPRENTICE, ECHOPAW**

**WARRIORS** (toms and she-cats without kits)

**CLOUDSHADE-**white she-cat with black spot on her face

** EBONYFANG-**black she-cat with striking blue eyes

**WHITENOSE-**dark tabby brown tom with a white spot on muzzle

**APPRENTICE, JAGGEDPAW**

** RAVENTAIL-**calico she-cat with a black tail, amber eyes

**SHADE-**black mottled tom with soft yellow eyes

**APPRENTICE, DEERPAW**

** BLUEBIRD-**she-cat with blue-gray fur and dark blue eyes

**APPRENTICE, THUNDERPAW**

** RIPPLEFUR-**dark tabby tom with bright orange eyes

**ROSETHORN-**dark ginger she-cat with white underbelly, hazel eyes

**APPRENTICE, SPIDERPAW**

** DAWNTAIL-**tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

**BRINDLEFUR-**silver tabby she-cat

**LIONMANE-**large golden tom with long fur

**APPRENTICES** (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

**ECHOPAW-**cream-colored she-cat

**JAGGEDPAW-**pale brown tom with misshaped jaw

**DEERPAW-**brown she-cat with white spots across her back

**THUNDERPAW-**gray (with darker flecks) tom

**SPIDERPAW-**silver tom with black paws

**QUEENS** (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

**SNOWFEATHER-**white she-cat with light blue eyes, mother of Ripplefur's kits: Nightkit (black she-cat (with lighter flecks), midnight blue eyes)

**POPPYSEED-**light brown she-cat with long legs

**ELDERS**(former warriors and queens, now retired)

**WOLFHOWL-**silver tom with white spots

**MOUSESTEP-**blind she-cat with mousy brown fur

**MARSHCLAN**

**LEADER****HERONSTAR-**white tom with silver spots and dark green eyes

**DEPUTY****MINNOWTAIL-**gray tom with brown eyes

**MEDICINE CAT**** FROGLEAP-**small brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

**WARRIORS**** CANARYSONG-**cream-colored she-cat with white spots

**APPRENTICE, REEDPAW**

** TURTLESNAP-**pale brown tom with long fangs

**RABBITJUMP-**speckled brown tom with long legs

**TOADFOOT-**black tom with pale green eyes

**ADDERSTRIPE-**silver she-cat with white stripes

**APPRENTICE, WILLOWPAW**

**APPRENTICES****REEDPAW-**black tom with white chest and tail tip

**WILLOWPAW-**pale brown tabby she-cat with baby blue eyes

**QUEENS**** SPOTTEDHEART-**ginger tabby she-cat with white spots

**ELDERS****MUDFACE-**dark brown tom with yellow eyes

**MOORCLAN**

**LEADER**** WINDSTAR-**white tom with small silver spots, brown eyes

**APPRENTICE, PHEASANTPAW**

**DEPUTY**** GORSEBUSH-**brown tabby she-cat with white chest, yellow eyes

**MEDICINE CAT**** LIGHTNINGSTRIKE-**silver tom with black spots on face and back, yellow eyes

**WARRIORS****BRAMBLEFUR-**brown and white tabby tom

** ASHFACE-**silver (with darker flecks) she-cat

** SUNSTRIPE-**orange tabby tom with orange eyes

**APPRENTICE, JUNIPERPAW**

** MINTHEART-**light gray she-cat with light green eyes

**WORMTAIL-**dark ginger tom with a slightly lighter colored tail

**APPRENTICES**** PHEASANTPAW-**speckled brown and black tom with dark brown eyes

**JUNIPERPAW-**blue-gray she-cat with amber eyes

**QUEENS**** BERRYLEAF-**dusty brown she-cat with a white muzzle, bright green eyes

**GRAYCLOUD-**gray she-cat with white chest and underbelly

**CATS OUTSIDE OF THE CLANS**

** BLOSSOM-**calico she-cat with hazel eyes

**SOOT-**ashy gray tom with green eyes


	2. Prologue

Prologue

Dark, furry shapes slid across the forest floor that was littered with dark green pine needles. A cry of pain interrupted the animal's movements and brought them scurrying back to a small clearing that had large dens in it. All but one of the animals stopped heading back to their home once the yowls stopped. The one that continued moving, however, stepped in the clearing and was momentarily illuminated by the moonlight to reveal that it was a cat with striking fox-like markings.

One by one, the other cats followed the dark ginger tom back into the clearing. Another cry rang out, making the first cat to enter bolt towards the den in which the cry came from. "Snowfeather is having her kits!" The ginger cat shouted after he stuck his head inside the den.

Two cats broke away from the group that remained stuck at the entrance of the clearing. The largest, a dark tabby tom, raced ahead of the other two, towards the place where the first tom had gone into. Panic was quite visible in his orange eyes as the fox-like cat chased him out. "You must stay outside, Ripplefur," mewed the ginger tom as he disappeared yet again inside the den. Ripplefur, the tabby tom, began to pace outside of the den while mumbling things no one could understand.

The smallest cat that had left the group ran to a different, much larger den than Ripplefur had. Moments later, the she-cat returned from the den carrying a small bundle of leaves in her jaws. It didn't take long for her to sprint back across the clearing and get into the den. As the she-cat disappeared inside the smaller den, an owl began to circle the camp, screeching every now and then.

An hour passed before the pained yowls ceased. A cream-colored she-cat, the second cat that left the group, appeared outside of the den with a sorrowful look on her face. "Wait till Foxpelt leaves the den, Ripplefur," the young cat instructed to the impatient tom before he could enter the den.

It wasn't long before Foxpelt, the ginger tom, walked out of the den. His ears were laid back and his tail was dragging in the dirt. "Go on in," Foxpelt told Ripplefur before turning towards the group. He was carrying the same sorrowful expression on his face that the young she-cat had carried too, but fear also glinted in his amber eyes.

"What is it, Foxpelt?" A golden cat took a few steps in front of the group and narrowed her yellow eyes. "I can smell your fear from here," the she-cat added after some hesitation.

Foxpelt shook his head to indicate that he didn't want to talk out in front of the Clan. It wouldn't do any good for the others to hear what he had to tell their leader. "Let's talk in your den, Mothstar." Without waiting for the tabby's response, the tom approached the tree stump that was in the center of the clearing. The golden cat named Mothstar began to follow him with complaint.

Once the two cats were inside the den, Foxpelt began the long story of Snowfeather birthing her kits. "Did you see the owl?" Foxpelt mewed worriedly as the end of the story neared. When the leader nodded he continued, "Since the kits were born too early, they should have all died. However, before the last kit could die the owl flew away." Mothstar shook her head in disbelief, but did not interrupt Foxpelt's story. "Mothstar, an owl is a deadly omen sent by StarClan. That last kit was not meant to live."


	3. Chapter 1

Blankets of thick snow covered every inch of the pine forest in which a group of wild cats lived. The sun was just beginning to cast its orange glow and warmth across the land, tricking the animals into believing that the day would be full of warmth. One by one, cats began to stir from their dens as sunlight trickled in through the cracks.

A white she-cat with sparkling sapphire blue eyes was one of the first to appear out of the dens. Walking behind her was her kit, a black she-cat with blue eyes as well. "What is this stuff?" The kit squeaked as she fell into a small hole that had been covered by the snow.

"It's called snow, Nightkit," the queen answered to her child. Carefully walking across the ground so she didn't end up like her kit, the white cat helped Nightkit out of the snow and placed her gently on a more stable place. Another cat climbed out of a large den. Like the mother's eyes, his orange eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

Nightkit looked up from the ground as the large, muscular tom approached her and her mother. "Ripplefur!" The kit cried out in joy. She hardly got to see her father anymore because he was always out hunting to provide food for the Clan.

Stepping over Nightkit like she was a mere pebble, Ripplefur touched his nose to his mate's. "Snowfeather, I didn't expect to see you up this early," the tom purred though there was an angry look in his eyes. It was a look that the tabby seemed to carry a lot these days.

"I wanted Nightkit to see the snow," Snowfeather replied happily while watching her kit fling snow into the air with her front paw. "Ratclaw's awake." The queen flicked her tail over to the den her mate had come from just as a silvery tom exited.

Rolling onto her back, Nightkit peered up at her father with wide eyes, but he didn't seem to notice her. Nightkit tried to grab the tom's attention by waving her small paws in the air. That didn't seem to work either for he was turning away from her and her mother to face the silver tom.

There was something familiar about the tom that Ripplefur began to approach. Perhaps it was the same shade of in orange in his eyes that her father also carried or it could be that both toms had the same broad shoulders. "Come, Nightkit. I don't want you to catch a cold." Nightkit reluctantly followed Snowfeather back into the nursery where two other queens were still sleeping.

Snowfeather laid down on her warm, mossy nest that contained a few soft bird feathers. She was careful not to make a noise so the other queens didn't wake up. The ebony she-cat was about to ask her mother a question when a soft noise stole her attention. "Her kits are awake," Nightkit noted, trying to hide the fact that she had forgotten the queen's name.

"She'll wake soon too," Snowfeather raised her head to look at the three kits that were currently mewling for their mother's attention. Just as the she-cat had predicted, the queen soon opened her blue eyes. Her eyes immediately brightened at the sight of her kits.

The largest of the kits, a calico she-cat with the name Maplekit, pushed her siblings over to get in front of her mother. "Hungry," the kit squeaked. Nightkit blinked, remembering that the kits had recently been switched to fresh kill despite Mothstar's urges to keep them on the milk until leaf-bare had passed. But the kits had grown tired of their mother's milk, so Mothstar finally agreed to let them eat fresh kill like true cats of TwilightClan.

"Snowfeather, would you watch them while I go fetch a piece of prey? I want to go out and stretch my legs," the ginger she-cat asked. She made sure to keep her voice soft so she didn't wake the snoozing queen that was tucked away in the back of the den.

"Take your time, Lovesong. I'll make sure they stay in one piece," Snowfeather responded jokingly with a soft voice. Even though she didn't say anything, Nightkit could tell that Lovesong was grateful to get some fresh air and get a break from the kits. Especially since the ginger queen's kits were always so rowdy and loud. Nightkit couldn't wait to finally become an apprentice to get away from the nuisances.

One of Lovesong's kits stepped onto the cold ground. It took a few more steps towards the nursery entrance before Snowfeather gently picked it up by its scruff. "Russetkit," Nightkit's mother said around a mouthful of russet-colored fur, "you can only leave the nursery if your mother says you can."

"But I'm hungry," Russetkit complained. Nightkit couldn't help but roll her eyes. This kit was always complaining about something. Once the black cat finally became an apprentice, which would be in one moon, she wouldn't have to deal with Russetkit's whining. And hopefully, when he became Russetpaw, Nightkit would be a warrior. She might even get to train the little mouse-brain.

Maplekit, the oldest cat in the litter, roughly shoved her brother. "Be quiet, flea-brain," the calico she-cat hissed. Snowfeather and Nightkit exchanged a look of shock. Maplekit had never lashed out at her younger siblings. She was always looking out for them, not pushing them down and calling them names.

Before Snowfeather could say a word to Maplekit, Lovesong reappeared with a frozen mouse in her jaws, oblivious to the fact that Maplekit was picking on her younger brother. "Don't eat too quickly," Lovesong instructed after seeing Russetpaw wolf down most of his portion. "Leaf-bare is upon us and you might not get to eat well for a few moons, so you should savor every bite." Only one of the kits listened to his mother, and that was the runt of the litter: Tinykit.

"You know, Lovesong, I think Tinykit would make a good medicine cat," Snowfeather said slowly. It was obvious that she didn't want to offend the ginger queen by making it sound like her kit was too weak, but that wasn't the case with Lovesong.

"Yes, I was going to talk to Foxpelt about that," Lovesong admitted while watching Tinykit chew small pieces of his mouse. "What do you think, Tinykit? Do you want to be a medicine cat?"

Tinykit swallowed the bite he was chewing and opened his mouth to answer, but it was Maplekit that spoke up instead of him. "Of course he's going to be a medicine cat! He's too weak to-"

"Enough," a harsh voice spoke at the entrance of the den. All eyes turned towards a gray tom. It was Lovesong's mate and the kits' father. "Maplekit, you will respect your brothers and your mother." Maplekit gulped and nodded. Fear was quite visible in her yellow eyes.

Someone cleared their throat in the back of the den which brought all the attention to pale brown she-cat who was sitting up in her nest. There was no anger in her eyes for being woken up, only curiosity and interest in being part of the nursery gossip. "Can someone tell me what all the fuss is about?" Lovesong was the one that told the short story of her and Snowfeather talking about TInykit's future as a medicine cat.

"Well someone ought to be the next medicine cat. Otherwise we would have to go to MoorClan or MarshClan for herbs and whatnot." The she-cat chuckled at the thought of that. "In the end, it's Foxpelt's decision on who will be his apprentice. Now, what's there to eat?"

As the sun climbed higher and higher in the sky, activity in the camp got lower and lower. Hunting patrols were sent out more frequently by the deputy of the Clan, Ratclaw. Pretty soon, only one or two warriors remained in the camp, and those warriors were going to be sent again soon to help restock the pile of dead animals.

"Welcome back, Poppyseed," Snowfeather mewed to the tired queen as she reentered the nursery. Even though Poppyseed had moved into the nursery, the bulge in her belly was not quite noticeable which meant she could still participate in any hunting. "Did you catch anything?"

"Two voles," Poppyseed said with disappointment even though that was considered a good catch during leaf-bare. "Your turn, Snowfeather." The brown she-cat closed her eyes and was soon asleep. She had been working as hard as the warriors; she joined a hunting patrol at sunhigh and didn't return to camp until the sun began to fall.

"Can I come with you?" Nightkit asked her mother. Other than the den, the only place the kit had explored was the camp and she was yearning to see what was outside of it. To her disappointment, Snowfeather shook her head and exited the den without saying a word.

Outside of the nursery, Snowfeather bounded to Ripplefur, who must have been waiting for her. "Lovesong, can I go see Ripplefur?" Nightkit asked the ginger queen.

"Make it quick," Lovesong mewed, too busy dealing with her own kits to realize that Nightkit was going out of the den.

Nightkit bounded to the spot where her father and mother had stood moments ago. Had they already left? It seemed so; there were two sets of paw prints in the ground leading to the camp entrance. _They couldn't have gotten too far. If I run I can catch up to them!_

Liking the sound of her idea, the young cat began to follow the prints her parents left behind. Nightkit took a few small steps outside of the camp, scared that a fox or badger might burst out of the brush at any moment. Nothing happened so Nightkit continued on her little expedition to find her parents. She hoped that, as a reward for finding them, Snowfeather and Ripplefur would teach them a few hunting techniques. They might even let her hunt! Just the thought of finally getting to spend some quality time with her family made the kit squeal with joy.

"You could have done better, Deerpaw," A cat mewed ahead of Nightkit, who froze in her steps. Nightkit was confused for a moment, it wasn't the voice of Ripplefur or Snowfeather yet their paw prints walked through the place where the voice had come from. "We can return to camp after we catch another piece of prey," the voice said again, this time more sternly.

Snow began to crunch as the two cats searched for a new hunting place. The cats came out of the bushes and crossed over the spot where Nightkit had stood moments before. Fortunately, the black feline had hidden under a thorn bush seconds before they came. She was just about to dash out of her hiding place once the cats passed when the smallest cat stopped in her tracks.

"I smell something, Shade," the spotted brown she-cat meowed in a curious tone. The apprentice turned towards the bush where the runaway was hiding. Shade, a mottled black tom, followed his apprentice back to where she stood. "It's someone from TwilightClan," Deerpaw explained even though Shade could easily tell by the smell. Taking another step closer, the she-cat peered into the bush.

Shade pushed his apprentice aside with his long, skinny body. "Learn to stay on your paws or else you'll be killed in your first battle," he growled to the she-cat that was now lying on her side in the white powder. Just before the dark tom could take another step towards the thorn bush and see that it was Nightkit hidden in there, two more cats came into the area.

Deerpaw immediately rose to her paws as if she wanted to hide what her mentor had done to her. "Hello, Rosethorn, Spiderpaw," she kindly greeted the two cats as they neared her and Shade. Rosethorn's hazel eyes traveled over the snowy pine forest until they landed on Shade. Her eyes filled with loathing and Nightkit wondered how Shade didn't feel the intensity of her gaze.

"Mothstar wants back in camp, Shade." Rosethorn spat the words at Shade. The ginger and white she-cat sprinted back the way she came with her apprentice behind her. Deerpaw started to follow but stopped when she saw that Shade wasn't.

"Go and retrieve that scrawny blackbird you caught. I'll go ahead and go back to camp." Shade stalked away while muttering something Nightkit could not hear. _I hope my mentor isn't that harsh. _Nightkit wanted to go and comfort Deerpaw after the apprentice had taken a shuddering breath and yet, she didn't because she was not meant to be out of camp.

Thinking about the camp made the feline think that a patrol might be looking for her. Lovesong was bound to have noticed her absence by now. Was that why Mothstar wanted everyone back in camp; to set up a patrol so they could find her? The only way she would find out is if she returned to the camp. Which, she would not do until Nightkit found Snowfeather and Ripplefur.

It was sunset by the time Nightkit realized she was lost. TwilightClan territory had started to thin. Pools of stagnant water become more visible as pine trees became less visible. The welcoming trees of her home were soon replaced with more pools of green water and thick beds of reeds and wild grass. Somewhere, most likely in one of the pools, a frog croaked. Just the sound of it startled Nightkit; she rarely saw them in her own land. So where was she now? It certainly wasn't her territory, and the only comforting sights she saw was the snow though it didn't lie in thick blankets like it did in the forest.

Nightkit shrugged and continued on walking. The promise she had made to herself was stuck in her mind and she knew that she would never forgive herself if she gave up on her journey before accomplishing her goal. Even if the goal was as silly as finding her parents just to spend time with them.

As the sun fell lower and lower into the sky, the kit grew more worried. What was she going to do when the sun completely disappeared? Her nose wasn't that strong to where she could follow her scent trail back home. She would just have to find a nice place to stay in this place, whatever this place was.

The attack had caught Nightkit off guard. One moment, she was walking through the thinly packed snow and the next she was looking into the narrowed eyes of a pale brown tabby she-cat who seemed to be only a moon older than the kit. "Adderstripe, I found an intruder!" The apprentice called to a cat that was hidden by the shadows, most likely her mentor.

"Good job," Adderstripe said proudly as she stepped out of the shadow of the few trees that filled the territory. Her glossy silver pelt rippled as she moved, showing off thick muscles. Nightkit shuddered, hoping that they wouldn't do anything to harm a kit. "Tell me, kit, why are you in MarshClan territory?" The warrior bent down to get a good look at the cat that had wandered in her Clan's territory.

Nightkit gulped. "I-I was just looking for my parents," she whimpered. All Nightkit had wanted to do was see her parents. Well, she saw Snowfeather plenty so it was Ripplefur that she truly wanted to spend some time with. "Please don't hurt me." Both Adderstripe and the she-cat apprentice began to laugh. Was her fear really that funny? Nightkit laid her ears back and narrowed her midnight blue eyes. She would not be laughed at.

"I don't know what you TwilightClan cats say about us MarshClan cats but we aren't unkind to kits. Even if they trespassed on our territory," the apprentice spoke softly as she got off of the black cat.

"Then what are you going to do to me?" Nightkit asked with her voice barely being louder than a whisper.

"We're going to take you back to the camp so you can explain to Heronstar why you were in our territory." It was Adderstripe that spoke up this time. "Come, Willowpaw. We must hurry or else everyone will grow worried." Willowpaw nodded and softly nudged Nightkit to her paws.

Nightkit began to follow Adderstripe back to MarshClan's camp to meet their leader, Heronstar. Willowpaw walked behind her, apparently to make sure she didn't run away even though both she-cats could easily outrun her. "Heronstar might not look kind but he has a soft heart," Willowpaw whispered encouragingly to the kit as the camp came into view. The TwilightClan kit was shocked to see that it looked almost like TwilightClan's camp. Except, the walls were made of reeds and twigs and they stretched up higher than the barriers around her Clan's camp.

The camp was alive with cats as they shared tongues and a healthy meal. Nightkit was surprised; TwilightClan never got that much prey during leaf-bare. Here, the fresh kill pile was as tall as it is for TwilightClan during leaf-fall. MarshClan had an easier time during leaf-bare than TwilightClan did. She could only imagine how well stocked the pile would be during green-leaf.

"Why have you brought a TwilightClan cat into my camp?" A white tom bellowed from where he was sitting. He was no doubt the leader of this Clan. Like Willowpaw had said, Heronstar truly looked frightening. His white fur was full of scars and his eyes were as sharp as a warrior's claws and they sliced through Nightkit's soul.

Some cats went back to eating their food, as if seeing an intruder in their camp was nothing out of the ordinary, but most of the Clan kept their angry eyes locked on the small she-cat. Rather than keep her head low like a small kit should do, Nightkit kept her head high like Adderstripe. Around her, there were whispers about her that were full of curiosity, hostility, and kindness.

"What is your name?" MarshClan's leader asked after taking a big bite of a large toad that was splayed across his two front paws.

"Nightkit," she meowed louder than she meant.

"Why are you here, Nightkit?"

"I was looking for my parents."

"Why?"

The question made Nightkit squirm with discomfort. It wasn't Heronstar's business to know what was going on in her personal life. However, it was horrible to lie to the leader of any Clan. "I wanted to hunt with them." What she said wasn't exactly a lie; Nightkit did want to hunt with her parents in the forest.

"Did you think that you could find your parents in MarshClan land?" There was a hint of hostility in Heronstar's voice. At this point, Nightkit knew that if she lied he would easily tell.

"No, I hadn't realized I had crossed until sunset. I kept on walking though." The volume of the conversations going on around the two cats increased as they heard what Nightkit said. She winced as some insults were thrown across the camp at her.

"I hope you know that we won't be letting you go home just yet. Minnowtail, Frogleap," Heronstar called to his deputy and medicine cat. "I request your advice on this situation." A gray tom was the first to break away from the crowd that had slowly gathered around to hear what was going on. The way he carried himself, Nightkit guessed that he was the deputy. Frogleap, the medicine cat, followed Minnowtail and Heronstar into the den. Looking around, she noticed that she was alone among the Clan.

Willowpaw protectively stepped next to the kit she had tackled earlier that day. "I'll show you to the nursery, Nightkit." Every cat stepped aside as the apprentice and the kit began to walk towards the nursery. Spottedheart was the only current queen in the Clan and she welcomed Nightkit with great kindness.

"I'm afraid you'll have to sleep in your own nest," Spottedheart admitted sympathetically. Nightkit nodded, understanding that it would be too awkward for both her and Spottedheart and then her four kits: Leafkit, Birdkit, Cinderkit, and Blossomkit.

She woke to the sound of many voices and hissing. TwilightClan had come to retrieve her.

Spottedheart was sitting in her nest while her kits still slept soundly behind her, oblivious to the noise coming from the camp. "They're here for you, Nightkit," she said softly, not wanting to wake her dear kits. "Be safe and I hope the next time we see each other it won't be in battle." The kit was taken aback at what the queen said but did not say anything.

There were four TwilightClan cats in MarshClan's camp. Ripplefur and Snowfeather were standing close together. Ripplefur was currently glaring at a few warriors that had gathered around while Snowfeather was searching the crowd for her kit. The other two cats were Mothstar and Foxpelt. Both were speaking in low voices to Heronstar and Frogleap. All four TwilightClan cats looked worried.

Everyone grew quiet as Nightkit boldly walked out of the den. Snowfeather gave a cry of delight and made a stepped forward to greet her kit but was held back by Ripplefur, who had a deadly look in his eyes. "Nightkit, Heronstar here has told me about your little expedition outside of the camp," Mothstar peered down at the kit with a neutral expression.

Nightkit bowed her head in shame. The whole Clan must have been searching the forest for her while she ate a slippery toad with Spottedheart and her kits. "I'm sorry for what I did, Mothstar, and I'm ready to return to my home." She prayed that she sounded sincere enough in her apology.

"We're not taking you home," Ripplefur spoke with malice as he glared at his kin.

"What Heronstar wanted from us was too great," Snowfeather explained softly. All the joy that had been visible in her blue eyes seconds ago had been replaced by great sadness.

"What did he want?" Nightkit asked softly, feeling tears coming to her eyes.

Mothstar touched her nose to the kit's ear. "I'm sorry, Nightkit, but we can't afford to lose our territory during leaf-bare. We'll return for you in new-leaf," the golden tabby promised as the three other cats left the camp with five MarshClan cats to escort them.

Nightkit glared at her old Clan leader as she left the camp. Anger coursed through her veins yet she refused to let that show on her face. She would not be known in this Clan for crying when her family abandoned her just to save some territory.

Cats exchanged glances of worry. They seemed to not know what to do with this TwilightClan cat that would now be called a MarshClan cat. Heronstar cleared his throat and all eyes were now on him instead of the black she-cat. "Nightkit is now belongs to MarshClan. Treat her like you would treat any other cat or else you'll have to deal with me."

Willowpaw beamed at her new friend. "Welcome to MarshClan, Nightkit," she mewed excitedly.


End file.
